Analysts Set The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) Target Price at $400.65

Shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have issued a hold recommendation, twelve have assigned a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $400.00.

Several research firms recently commented on SHW. UBS Group reissued an “underperform” rating on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research report on Friday, October 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $370.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Berenberg Bank upgraded shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $321.00 to $420.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Zelman & Associates upgraded Sherwin-Williams to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th.

Sherwin-Williams Trading Up 1.9 %

NYSE SHW opened at $364.41 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $358.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $364.34. Sherwin-Williams has a 52-week low of $282.09 and a 52-week high of $400.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $91.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.22.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.02. Sherwin-Williams had a net margin of 11.61% and a return on equity of 74.50%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.81 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Sherwin-Williams will post 12.12 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Gregory P. Sofish sold 2,565 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $378.63, for a total transaction of $971,185.95. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,329 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,396,349.27. This represents a 28.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Mary L. Garceau sold 15,770 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $397.92, for a total transaction of $6,275,198.40. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 29,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,621,253.60. This represents a 35.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sherwin-Williams

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SHW. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 88.9% in the 3rd quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 68 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Sherwin-Williams in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new stake in Sherwin-Williams in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, GHP Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 47.5% in the third quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 87 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. 77.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Sherwin-Williams

The Sherwin-Williams Company engages in the development, manufacture, distribution, and sale of paints, coating, and related products to professional, industrial, commercial, and retail customers. It operates through three segments: Paint Stores Group, Consumer Brands Group, and Performance Coatings Group.